A Fox Amongst Wolves
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: A man once told me to always keep my foes confused. Distracted. Baffled. Wise words. Wicked words. Words I took to heart. My family found me in the snow, they said. Chances are I'll die there when my time comes. But not yet. Who am I, you ask? I am A Fox Amongst Wolves, and those that seek to harm the Starks will taste my fangs. Smart!Naruto! Pairing undecided! Vote, please!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: HOWDY! I'm finally BAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! And I thought I'd play the Game of Thrones. Excuse the pun. I've also played the first season of Telltale's Game of Thrones, and that lent me some fine ideas to the part, although I wasn't pleased with the ending by any means.**

 **Looking forward to season two soon, and the SIXTH season of GOT in April! WHO'S EXCITED FOR IT?! ME!**

 **Anywho, this is my first attempt at a crossover of the like, so please be nice! Aye, and Naruto's surname here is INTENTIONAL, its one he chose for himself, and it hints at his character here quite a bit.**

 **Which brings us to the next item of business. This Naruto, well, he's not a dunce, thanks to his upbringing.**

 **He might be a tad dense when it comes to the fairer sex at times, but when it comes to everything else, he's sharp as a valyrian steel sword. The pointy end. Speaking of which! As to the name of a certain blade in this story, well, I suppose ya'll just have to wait and see if our favorite blond's wielding the genuine article, or has he merely named it such? Now...**

 **...here goes nothing! One last question; should I include the Forresters in this? Let me know in the reviews and comments!**

 _"Chaos is a ladder, my dear boy._

 _Many who try to climb it fail and never get to try again._

 _The fall breaks them._

 _Some are given a chance to climb, but they refuse._

 _They cling to the realm or the gods or love._

 _Illusions._

 _Only the ladder is real._

 _The climb is all there is. But you..._

 _...you're still climbing, aren't you?"_

 ** _"Ever higher."_**

 _~Littlefinger and ?_

 **Game**

 _A wise man once told me to always keep my foes confused._

 _He said that if your enemies are never certain who you are or what you want, they cannot possibly know what you are like to do next. Sometimes the best way to baffle them is to make moves that have no purpose, or even seem to work against you. Strange words. Wise words-ones I instantly took to heart. Perhaps, had he known at the time who, or rather WHAT I was, he wouldn't have gifted me with such sage advice. Alas, advice was given and avice me he did. From those fateful words a boy died, and in his place a man was born._

 _Think on this, for a moment if you will._

 _Fires rage and fires burn. Like people._

 _Sometimes they flare up. They go out, just as quickly._

 _And sometimes..._

 _...sometime the smallest spark can start a fire that will smolder, burn bright even in the darkest winter._ _But enough about words and flames. You're probably wondering who I am, and what in the seven hells I'm talking about. The answer, well, that might surprise you. I go by many names, these days. Many titles, and I hate the blasted things:_

 _I am a shadow._

 _A ghost._

 _What men fear most._

 _I am truth._

 _Fright._

 _A whisper in the night._

 _That last gasp before cold steel opens your throat._

 _I am a Fox Amongst Wolves._

 _Ward to Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell. Friend to Jon Snow. Sworn-brother and protector to Robb and all the Stark children. I am a simple man; I don't put much stock in faith or fate, or any of that nonsense. I protect my kith and my kin, what's mine and mine alone. I do my best to protect them-sometimes from their enemies, other times themselves. No matter the cost._

 _My name is Naruto Foxflame, first of my name. Wielder of Frostmourne. Knife of Winterfell. Death in the shadows. I have walked on water as though it t'were land. Scaled walls with nothing but my own two legs. Seen dragons come back into this world and fought the undead. I have slain folk both fair and foul in the name of my family, without ever being asked to do so. I have committed terrible atrocities, done unspeakable things, things that would make the mad king seem pale by comparison. All for their sake._

 _Because I am not the hero of this story._

 _I'm not even the villain._

 _I'm just...me._

 _Frankly, I'm not even sure of that, sometimes._

 _What am I?_

 _Man?_

 _Beast?_

 _Something in between?_

 _I'm still figuring that out._

 _But to truly understand what I'm talking about, to know my story, the tale of Westeros, the Iron Throne and the conflict that changed it forevermore, you have to go back..._

 _...back to the beginning._

 _Then, you have to play the game._

 _The only one that matters._

 _A Game of Thrones._

* * *

 _(...Many Years Earlier...)_

* * *

At long last, the sealing had been completed.

Minato Namikaze looked down at his son, his child-his heir!-fighting to keep the smile on his face as blood seeped out of the corners of his mouth. His wife Kushina was in front of him, as they both had been pierced in the stomach protecting their son from one of the Kyuubi's claws. His wife had been shedding tears for their progeny, his name stitched ever-so-lovingly into the blankets covering him. They coud not however, stifle his cries.

Minato couldn't help but feel guilty at what he had done to his baby boy. He knew some people may dislike him, but he believed they would see him as the little hero he was. He had to. He must. To think otherwise was to die with regret and that was something he dare not do.

In a way, this killed two birds with one stone by turning his son into a Jinchuuriki; he protected his village with one hand and gave his son a power to help fight against the masked man that had wrought this horrible fate with another.

Then, something strange occurred.

Naruto, poor, little Naruto, was surrounded by a strange, swirling vortex and disappeared. Just like that. There was no warning-no precedent-no other explanation for this sudden phenomenon. His son, and the blankets swadling him on the altar, were suddenly gone in a burst of golden energy, leaving nothing but empty air behind.

Shock filled both parents' faces as they cried out for him, but their bodies fell lifeless and listless; their souls going to the shinigami before they even struck the ground. Their last breath was their son's name.

 _"Naruto!"_

* * *

 _(...)_

* * *

From his perch in the treeline, Obito stifled a furious shout.

 _Damnitall!_

His lone arm clenched and unclenched, fingers knotting against his palm with enough force to draw blood beneath the glove. It had all gone wrong. Wrong, wrong wrong _wrongwrongwrongwrong!_ He wanted to shout; to spit and snarl shriek and scream, but he held his silence. Something had gone wrong. Someone-something!-had interfered with him! He'd heard a woman's voice, a cheeky, _"Ohhh, I don't think so!"_ whispered in his ear-and then everything had been taken from him, his plot dismantled at the very last instant.

 _AGAIN!_

Having made one last, desperate attempt to take the Kyuubi-rather, the host-he knew the fault lay with him, regardless of the unexpected interference. Furious with his old teacher, he had tried to grab the boy with his dojutsu and failed; his injuries and the outside intervention proving too much for him to properly grab hold of the whelp for anything more than a split second. Spirits, he didn't even know _where_ he was. He wasn't even entirely certain what'd happened. And if his mistake had somehow meddled with the seal, bungled it, somehow...released that energy...

Who knew where the boy might end up?

* * *

 _(...)_

* * *

The Kyuubi yowled at its new confines and slammed against its cage in anger. It too realized that something was wrong, and with every fiber of its being it fought to escape the strange fate befalling it. Jaws snapped at the bars of its cage, claws clanking harshly, but to no avail.

It suddenly felt its power being drained, just as its Yin half had been. But this was no mere sapping of its strength. And it did not cease.

" **NO!"** it roared as its chakra was ripped from it, its body becoming little mor than a shriveled version of itself.

Upon the lock of the cage, the piece of paper with the kanji for _seal_ on it flew off and a spiral lock replaced it, closing tightly.

The large mass of chakra flew through the tiny boy's body and lit it a shining golden white.

Changing it.

Altering its very form.

Then they were flung, boy and fox both...

 _...somewhere else._

* * *

 _(...)_

* * *

 _If there was a rock, Winterfell was it._

For years upon years in countless millennia, it had withstood the test of time, weathering winter and summer both. Armies had broken like water upon the walls of this castle in decades past and not once, _not a once_ had this formidable fort been taken. Against this impregnable fortress only the elements prevailed. Sometimes, not even atop several hot springs which provide the castle with warmth even in the worst winters, long has it hosted the Starks and their descendants.

Indeed this castle had taken all comers, not just those men, but that of the world as well. And it would endure many more yet.

For it is here that the next leg of our journey unfolds.

* * *

 _(...)_

* * *

Sparks splayed across the horizon.

Dark clouds gathered amidst darker skies, as though all heaven and earth were holding council. Waiting, for this very moment. For a moment the world held its breath, warding off the dawn. At this high altitude no one noticed the tiny swirl of new reality etching itself into the sky. Perhaps had anyone been watching they might have seen the clouds wither away, watched the sky warp...

...and vanish.

Red light resolved itself into a single point and shot downward, slamming towards the unsuspecting earth below.

To Winterfell.

With a deafening _crrrraaaaaaaaack_ of a sound,that "something" thudded into existence well withing the courtyard. The entire world seemed to start in surprise, then hold its collective breath. Silence fell. No words were needed, no thoughts shared between the moon and the stars as they gazed down upon the world; as the castle denizens below scrambled outside to see what could've caused such a commotion.

And then from that smoke, a single, tremulous cry arose.

 _"Waaaaaaaaaaaah!"_

An infant's wail stabbed into the silence of the night like an arrow through the heart, sharp and piercing. The noise carried across the castle, a sound so piercing that it pierced the catacombs below and the towers above them And in one of those very towers, in a room higher than all the rest, something stirred.

 _Someone._

The Lord and Lady of Winterfell were roused by the guards in short order and brought to the scene.

Lady Catelyn, still weary from being jolted out of bed, didn't get there first.

Eddard Stark did.

What he found there in the courtyard boggled the lord's mind. Just within the gates of their hold were still more of his men, circled around what appeared to be a strange indent in the ground. Drawing closer he realized it was a crater of some sort, still smoldering from impact. What was _within_ the crater-doubtlessly the source of the noise-baffled him. It looked like...he didn't know what it looked like.

"What's going on here?" he demanded to know, approaching the scene.

"Careful, m'lord!" a guard cried as he neared the perimeter, "It might be witchery of some sort!"

Eddard Stark nudged the man aside. "I'll be the judge of that."

For Eddard Stark was not a superstitious sort and he did not fear whatever it was that had come into his keep.

What he saw there was no demon made of magic, no creature, not even a wilding from beyond the wall.

Instead, the Lord of Winterfell found himself staring at a tiny bundle of red cloth.

An infant, wrapped in swaddling clothes.

A boy.

Closer inspection revealed that it was no mere base bundle; there was something _inside_ that delicate-looking cloth. Curious, he reached down and plucked it up off the snow, dusting it free of the wet slush. Almost immediately, a renewed wail sound vented from the parcel. "Waaaaaaaaaah!' Gods _preserve me!_ Ned gasped, and were he any other man, he would've dropped the parcel right then and there and called for it to be burned. Ah, but he was a Stark, and nerves of steel enabled him to hold fast.

Catelyn finally arrived, huffing slightly at Ned's haste. Her confusion didn't last long when her husband turned to face her, presenting the offering in question. A quiet oath fled from his lips.

 _"Seven hells!_ Ned, what is that?!"

"See for yourself."

Catelyn's mouth opened in a small, round O as she saw the parcel. It wasn't some gift. It was a _child._ A mewling babe, only a few hours lold. Here. Out in the cold. That shouldn't be possible. No infant-much less a one that looked to be a newborn!- should be able to survive out in the cold beyond the threshold like this. They peered down at him in disbelief and amazement. How had he gotten here?

At that very moment the baby ceased its cries and opened its eyes.

 _Blue._

His tiny face, once scrunched in abject wailing, softened. A tiny hand reached out, wrapping itself around Ned's outstretched finger. Such strength! The Lord of Winterfell stared deep into those tiny blue eyes, marveling at them. Too blue. That was Ned's next thought as he stared down into those bright pools, squinting up from that whiskered face. He looked deeper and saw power. A power so terrible, that he could barely grasp at the enormity of it-and that frightened him. All that strength, made manifest in this child. This boy...what was he?

Something in his heart trembled, though he knew not why.

Their eyes fell to the words stitched into the cloth of his red blankets. Catelyn frowned thoughtfully to herself. Such a strange name. She'd never seen one like it before, not in all her years. She tried it out, sounding out the boy's name, rolling it on her tongue.

"Naruto."

The infant looked right back at him, sniffling softly. It was then, in that moment, that Eddard Stark, Warden of the North, knew he was lost. His wife must've seen the look in his eye, for she grew stone-faced and tried to shake him.

"Ned, you aren't thinking of...

By way of response-did this mewling babe actually UNDERSTAND him?-the boy smiled that same, toothless smile.

"Aye, I mean to. At least," he amended at her admonishing look, "Until the morn."

Nestled tightly in Ned's arms Naruto gurgled quietly, happily. _Content._

He never left the next morning.

Nor the next.

 _Or any thereafter._

 **A/N: Yes, yes, I know, the timeline as to when this happens is a wee bit muddy; it'll be explained handily in the next chapter. Anyhow there we go! An infant Naruto in Game of thrones! One can only wonder what will happen. This is written for the indulgence of you, the fans, so by all means, tell me what ye want to happen! I don't guarantee a happy ending, but I do promise it to be an interesting one! And there's one character I can't WAIT to kill, though it may not be who you think...**

 **So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...**

 **...Review...Would You Kindly? Timeskip next chapter!**

 **And the preview! I think we've all been hoping for this ever since we saw Ramsay...**

 ** _(Preview)_**

 _Ramsay Snow frowned._

 _"That is a...lovely sword you've got there."_

 _Naruto laughed softly. "_ _Thanks."_

 _"Wherever did you find it?"_

 _"...don't want to know._

 _"..."_

 _A beat of awkward silence passed between the two youths, broken only by the sounds of the forest. Ramsay couldn't stop looking at the sword. It was a great monster of a thing, almost as large as a bastard sword, but somehow even deadlier still. Glittering blue and black it seemed almost alive, shimmering in the wan light peeking through the trees. Part of him longed to reach out and touch the deadly blade-but another part recoiled at the eerie whispers that seemed resonate from the sword._

 _When its owner next spoke however, those words lacked their previous warmth; his voice was like iron from ice._

 _"So, you like torture, do you?"_

 _Ramsay Snow paused abruptly, a twig cracking loudly beneath his boot. Swinging a_ _scowl at the blond's back didn't produce so much as a twitch. His hunting partner didn't so much as look at him, instead his azure gaze remained rooted on the stag ahead. Fixed on the prize deer, the elusive creature they'd spent most of the morn tracking. Was that a smile, he saw? Was it his imagination? The boy was a guest on their lands as were the Starks-a guest, and yet, he couldn't help but feel as if he were the guest here, in these woods._

 _"I haven't the foggiest idea what you're talking about."_

 _"I often enjoy a spot of it myself with evening tea." The blond confessed ably, plucking an arrow out of his quiver and setting it expertly against the string. "The difference between you and I however, is that I only deal pain to those deserving it."_

 ** _'I should stick that sword in his back!'_**

 _Barely restraining the vicious impulse, Bolton's son feigned indifference, palming the hilt of his blade. "I_ _s there a point, here?"_

 _"You raped and killed that lowborn girl last night." Naruto replied, drawing the string back. "You think no one heard you, but I did. I always hear. She begged you for mercy, and you laughed as you flayed her open. I'm not the sort to tolerate that."_

 _Pearly white teeth gritted together, exasperated._

 _"You can't prove anything, you know."_

 _Naruto finally looked at him, then._

 _Ramsay wished he hadn't._

 _Because those blue eyes were dark, darker than the blackest pit in the Dreadfort._

 _"Can't I?" the words were a glacial hiss._

 _Snarling, Ramsay swung!_

 **R &R~!**


	2. Kill the Boy

**A/N: HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLY CRAP! JUST SAW THE NEW GAME OF THRONES (RED BAND) TRAILER ON YOUTUBE! WATCH IT! NOW! I'm sooooo fired up for this and my muse has just LEAPED into overdrive with words to spare!**

 **But then again, I'm sure you could tell that by the word count. I know it isn't as long as the Son of the Stag's second chapter, but hey, I tried.**

 **Now, before the third chapter** **, let's clarify things:**

 **FIRST!**

 **This Naruto is an entirely different beast from the one in Son of the Stag. He's sane, for one. He DOES NOT like to kill initially, and is quite averse to it. In other aspects he's a bit of a wild child and his personality has an effect on those in his family. Sansa, for one, won't be the perfect little lady we see in the series. She knows how to kill. Robb's a tad kinder. Theon is well...Theon. Ugh.**

 **SECOND!**

 **Like his canon self, this Naruto craves attention and will do near anything-unless its untowards-to get it.**

 **THIRD!**

 **What will the pairing be? Tis a secret for now, so keep voting!**

 **Now that we've gotten that bit of business out of the way, time for a warning!**

 **DEATH AHOY...**

 **...here goes nothing! And for those curious about the presence of a blade like Frostmourne, this chapter offers an explanation. Also! Foul language ahoy! And YES for those who wonder, I think that I WILL include the Forresters in this fic, unless ya'll expressly tell me you don't want me to. Events in these early chapters will have far-reaching consequences, not just in Westeros, but across the Narrow Sea and even beyond the Wall itself...**

 _ **Ciao! Onto Naruto's formative years!**_

 _"A naked man has few secrets; a flayed man, none."_

 _"What about a burned man?"_

 _~Ramsay and Naruto._

 **Kill the Boy**

 _Someone once asked me to make a promise. To swear I would never change._

 _I regret to say I have failed to keep that promise._

 _Ignorantly, I told them I would stay a boy._

 _That I would remain pure._

 _I did not._

 _When I say failed, it wasn't done with malicious intent mind you; I didn't wake up one day and decide to break my solemn vow overnight. It happened slowly. A thousand tiny cuts in my honor-a thousand lies to myself, believing that I was doing the right thing. Not for me, mind you. It was seldom about me, or what I wanted. Yet I bloodied my hands regardless. For my dear ones. For my precious people. For those whose value I held -loved!- even over my own life. Do I regret it what I've done?_

 _No!_

 _It was for my family._

 _Sometimes I wonder, though._

 _Is there something wrong with this world?_

 _Its not just me, its this place. Almost all of Westeros. The people. The very air. It changes you. Everyone wants power, and they'll do anything to get it. They'll torch your lands. Poison you. Stab their lord in the back at the drop of hat. Slaughter babes in their cribs. I'm no saint, but even I have my limits! I have crossed countless lines, but there are some I still refuse to pass._

 _Ah, but I digress._

 _I'm getting away from the story._

 _Lets get back to it then...shall we?_

 _Shortly after my "arrival" at Winterfell, I was taken in by the man I would one day come to call Father. At least he allowed me to call him that. On the contrary, his wife, Lady Catelyn, was anything but a Mother to me. Distant and cold, she gave me about as much "respect" as she did Jon._

 _A pox on her!_

 _I wasn't a stolen ward like Theon, nor was I considered a bastard as Jon Snow, but a son. A true son. Family, in all but blood. Which made me all but nobility. Can you imagine how that felt? Not just having a family, but being respected? Being near the same age as my brothers possessed its own advantage, certainly. I grew up with Jon and Robb both and we were the best of friends-the three of us. Rank and privilege meant nothing to us back then. It didn't matter whether Robb was going to be a lord or not, that Jon was a bastard, or even that I'd all but fallen out of the sky._

 _Of course, Sansa eventually came along, but she was interested in finer things back then._

 _For a blessed time, it was just us, the boys._

 _We fought, laughed, bickered and played together._

 _Yes, it seemed as though the world would never change..._

* * *

 _(Some Years Before The Game of Thrones...)_

* * *

 _Twang!_

The arrow sailed free from the bow with an audible _thwap_ of sound, the string slackening as its guest flew free to streak across the yard. For a moment it seemed the shot would fly straight and true, only to bank right at the last moment and shatter into splinters against the stone walls of Winterfell. A beat of awkward silence followed as the guardsmen witnessed it from the perch on the wall. Snickering to themselves, they returned their attention to the plains and the overcast afternoon beyond.

A young Robb Stark gawped at his shoddy handiwork in abject disbelief, his dark brow furrowing in consternation at the intact target before him. Missed! How the devil had he missed _again?!_

"Impossible!"

"Ha!" Theon crowed, slapping his knee. "See, I told you! Can't aim to save his life."

Jon Snow watched silently, shaking his head. Robb scowled at his half-brother, eyes darkening beneath the unruly mane of his curls.

"Oh, and I suppose you think you can do better, Snow?!"

"Now I didn't say that-

"Give it here, you lot! _I'll_ show you how its done!"

Theon's shot didn't fare much better-a sloppy draw, followed by a misstep. The arrow didn't come anywhere near the wall; on the contrary, it smacked into the ground well short of the target. Snow snickered and now it was Robb's turn to smile, silently relieved that his own mishap had been so quickly forgotten in the wake of the Ironborn's failure. Theon didn't take it well, his mouth set itself into a hard line and he leered at the bow furiously as if it had somehow betrayed him.

Eight years had done much to improve his wit.

Not so his aim.

Jon cringed. "Better luck next time."

"Gods praise the mighty archer!" Robb jibbed in with an elbow, laughing.

Theon colored, his cheeks turning flush with embarrassment.

"Shut up!" Boys will be boys, after all, and Theon was just as quick to salvage his tattered pride. "Bet _you_ can't do better, Jon!"

The bastard grinned at the challenge.

"Watch me."

Naruto barely noticed Snow take aim, just as he'd hardly noticed Robb and Theon's piss-poor attempts at archery. His mind was decidedly elsewhere, lost in the pages of his book. Oh, he knew Jon was a fair shot to be certain-his brother in arms would likely hit the dummy where Robb and Theon had each failed handily. And he must have hit something, judging by the dull " _whump"_ and triumphant cries that followed. A scarred finger traced lazily over the words in front of him as his mind dutifully committed them to memory.

Engrossed as he was, he didn't pay the celebration any heed until someone took him by the should and started shaking him.

"Naruto? Oi, Naruto!"

Blinking, the boy looked up from his book. "Hmm? Jon? What? What is it?"

"Reading again?"

 _"Kessa."_ he replied in High Valyrian without thinking. At the lad's baffled expression, he hastened to amend his words. "Er, ah...I mean yes."

His brother humored him with a smile.

"You're going to lose yourself in those pages, someday."

"Maybe."

Naruto wondered if that wouldn't be so bad.

When he read he felt, well...calm. Normal. _Sane._ There wasn't any other word for how he felt. Whenever he opened a book and poured over the words within his mind was his own and his thoughts were at peace. They didn't wander aimlessly and he wouldn't have to mind his twitching fingers, boundless energy itching for action. He liked to think that browsing the pages of this musty old tome meant that he was more civilized than a violent little twat like that Joffrey fellow he'd heard rumors about.

Anyone could read after all, if they were of a mind-and patient enough!-to learn.

There was more to it than that however. It seemed there was just something about High Valyrian, about this _language_ that _spoke_ to him, a pounding in his head that insisted it was important. It'd been there ever since Maester Luwin had first shown him the texts and told him of the doom of Valyria so long ago. Did it have something to do with his dreams?

 _Sand._

 _A girl._

 _Blond hair._

 _Piercing violet eyes._

 _A hand outstretched, imploring._

 _"Find me."_

"Why do you bother reading that, anyway?" Rob called, drawing another arrow to his quiver. "Nobody speaks High Valyrian in the North these days. Its a _dead_ language, remember?" Naruto's first instinct was to snap at his brother for suggesting such a thing, for interrupting his daydream of a memory. Narrowly, he restrained himself.

"Well?"

The ghost of a smile flitted across the blond's face.

"Ah, but some speak this "dead language" across the sea! If I plan on going there someday, I think I'd like to know it."

 _"You_ want to cross the Narrow Sea?" Theon chimed in, laughing. "Are you daft? There's nothing but savages and horse-lords over there! Figures a brute like you would want to learn about them!"

Naruto twitched, his right hand spasming.

Robb and Jon frowned in warning.

"Theon...

Too late.

"Oh, for the love of-!" Irked by these words, Naruto finally looked up from his book and glowered at the Ironborn. "I didn't mean _now_ , you ass! No," he repeated more thoughtfully to himself, "Not now. Someday. When I'm older and I know how to sail. I think it'd be nice to see Essos and the rest of the world for myself. Maybe I'll see a dragon!" he grinned at the idea, blood warmed by the thought even in the cold. "That'd be exciting!"

"Dragons are extinct." Jon interjected quickly before Theon could stick his foot in his mouth again.

"I thought idiots were too, but sadly _Theon's_ proven me wrong." Naruto quipped, returning his gaze to the book. "A beast like that would never die out. Not truly."

"Like the Targaryens?" Robb quested, peering over his shoulder.

"They're not dead, either." Naruto hummed as he turned a page, smiling. "I heard a few survived. Blood of the Dragon, they say. Now that's something."

Jon saw the look on Theon's face and knew what was about to happen next, what his lord father's ward was about to say. Even so, he held his tongue.

Perhaps it was time he left his brother fight his own battles.

He wasn't disappointed.

"Get that from your books, did you?"

A spark of anger flared to life in Naruto's gut, burning like the dragon fire he'd become so curious about. Reluctantly, he pursed his lips and squashed it. "I _got it,_ " he began slowly, turning ice-blue eyes upon the young Ironborn, "From listening to people. Which you might have if you weren't so busy being an ass to everyone you meet."

The lad snarled.

"Say that again, you shit!"

"You. Are. An. Ass." Naruto smiled merrily with each word, watching the boy's face purple. "The assiest ass that there ever was." he sang. "Someday, the bards shall write songs about your asinine ways and those who hear them will shake their heads and say, Theon Greyjoy! What an absolute ASS he was-

A clod of mud sailed over his head before he could finish, nimbly ducked.

"Hey"! Robb cried!

"Piss off." the younger boy growled through his teeth. "Take your fuckin' turn already and be done with it!"

Naruto arched an eyebrow.

"I'd rather not emba-

"Chicken?"

 _"Fine."_

Quietly bemused by the Greyjoy's impotent rage, Naruto sighed and slammed the tome shut with a loud snap. Squaring his shoulders he reached over and forcibly yanked the bow out of Theon's grasp. "Give me that, you little twat, before you poke your eye out." The brief flicker of fear in Ironborn's eyes did not go unnoticed, but went ignored as the taller boy shouldered his way to the front of the targets. Shaking off his fur cloak the blond adjusted his leathers, drew an arrow from the quiver, took a stance-

 **"You're far too young to be having a dick-measuring contest, boy."**

 _Urk._

As ever, the voice surprised him, whispering in his ear at the most inopportune time. Naruto nearly fouled his shot right then and there; had he drawn the string back he surely would have. It rumbled in his ears like an avalanche, the grating of two giant boulders grinding against one another. Worst of all, it sounded genuinely amused to have startled him so. He had the distinct impression that it -whatever the hell it was- was grinning at him, delighting in his consternation.

 _'Go away.' he hissed furiously, praying that it would obey._

 **"Why?"** it snarked back at him. **"Its not like I've anything better to do."**

 _'Now is not the time!'_

 **"Of course it is!"** the words veritably oozed malevolence and contempt. **"Tell you what, you do something interesting, and I'll leave you be for the day. Does that sound fair, boy?**

 _'Not at all-_

 **"Bah!"**

The word ran roughshod over him before he could finish the thought. **"Why, you could bury that arrow there in Greyjoy's skull and silence him long before anyone could stop you! Wouldn't that be FUN? I think that'd be a fair trade for my silence."**

 _'One more word about murder and I swear to the gods I'll cut my own throat!'_

 **"Bah, you're no fun! Is a little bloodshed too much to ask?"** thus cowed, the eerie presence retreated...

...for the time being.

Jon cast him a concerned look.

"Everything alright?"

Naruto glowered, gritting his teeth.

"Fine, just fine."

Robb and Theon's shared look didn't go unnoticed, either and he strangled a curse.

What was he _supposed_ to tell them? That he was hearing the voice, again? That some ancient creature -at least he assumed it was one- was speaking to him in both dreams and waking, robbing him of restful sleep, invading his very thoughts, and that devoting himself to his studies was the only way to find some semblance of peace? No-that way lay folly. No one was going to believe him if he started spouting off that nonsense. Best to keep it to himself lest they think him even more a fool than he already was.

His face showed none of this as he took up the bow once more.

In one fluid movement he set the arrow and drew the string back, sighted down the target. The bow felt like an old friend in his hands; smooth and supple, bending to his touch. In a sense it was. Ser Rodrik said he had good arms for his age; good, strong arms, so it only made sense that he was able to draw the bow better than most boys his age. But that wasn't the half of it. His strength came from parts unknown; someplace he had no earthly idea of, only the vague knowledge that it was simply _there_ just as the voice existed in his head.

"How many?" he drawled, the words escaping on a sigh.

Robb blinked, confused. "How many _what?"_

"Uh-oh."

Jon groaned at the blazing look in those blue eyes, the tempered steel shimmering in their cerulean depths. Naruto, much like his namesake was like a flame. Quick to anger-quicker than most-and when you roused him he was liable to bite. He also knew from experience that the blond's skill with the bow was not to be questioned. It was too late to stop him now-his blood was up, and he simply wouldn't have anything less than success here, complete, utter triumph.

But there was something different in those eyes today. Something dark lurked behind those blue eyes. For a moment, just a moment, he thought he saw a spark of red within.

"What's your record again?" he asked at last, wary.

The grin vanished.

 _"Three in a row._ What say we pet five gold dragons on it and make it a wager?"

"THREE?!" Theon guffawed, laughing loudly. "I'll take that bet! No one could-

In the next instant Naruto didn't move.

He simply...

...blurred.

 _Twang!_

It was a good shot, Snow thought. Father would have been proud to see it. It had everything a perfect shot ought to have.

Speed.

Power.

Precision.

And then Naruto moved _again._

Before the first arrow had found its the target the whiskered youth notched another and sent it shrieking after its twin. The air itself seemed to boil as the second chased the first home. Straight and true this one flew, impaling its brother and splitting it neatly down the middle against the hay. Naruto spun, stepped, and two more arrows followed suit almost before he realized what was truly happening, little more than matte-brown blurs against his peripherals.

Naruto fired four arrows in all.

Four of them hit something.

When Jon dared to look, he nearly didn't believe his eyes.

Each one had found struck the target dead center, until three arrows lay split and splintered beneath a fourth. Four shots loosed in as many seconds. Naruto stood still as a stone from where Jon had seen him last, his arm still extended from his final shot. He turned slowly, a look of rapturous delight etched into his face. Theon gawped, his mouth hanging agape like that of a fish. Robb was too well-bred to laugh at Theon's folly, but Jon saw his smile and knew it was still telling.

Naruto was slightly less subtle with his own smirk.

"Looks like I win."

Delighted cries rose up from onlookers and guards alike as the results sank in; to Naruto's disbelief his actions had drawn more than just the smallfolk's attention, but a crowd as well. He felt his face warm beneath their adulatious praise, moreso when he realized that his lord father was watching. He spied him near the wall, his solemn face warmed by a smile. And as he looked on, his lord father nodded. Naruto grinned, thrilled that he had managed to please his sire. There was no great purpose he could aspire to.

In that moment, young Naruto felt he could die happy.

Jon whistled softly and clapped him on the back.

"You'll have to teach me that trick, sometime."

Theon's dismay was slightly less unfounded.

"Seven bloody hells! Since when can you do that?!"

"Practice." Naruto replied with a look of wry contempt, eyes flashing. _"Lots_ of practice."

He turned and bowed gracefully once more for his father and brothers...

"You cheated!"

...and then Theon had to ruin it.

Robb had held his tongue thus far but at this, the dam of his patience finally burst.

"Theon, that's enough!"

"No, no, Rob." Naruto soothed, waving a hand when the Stark lunged forward to grap hold of the mouthy Greyjoy. "Don't clean up his mess this time. Lets hear what our young lord has to say." Perhaps it was spiteful of him to goad Theon thus. Perhaps it was being called a savage. Maybe he simply didn't like the boy. Whatever the case he found his good-natured humor slowly slipping away away as Theon shook himself free and swore a renewed string of curses at him.

"'S'not natural," the youth continued, stabbing a finger at him. "You'll not have my money. No one should be able to do that!"

Naruto bristled at the insult, an unpleasant surge of anger warming his blood.

"And yet I did."

"Aye, because you're a freak." Greyjoy thundered!

 _"What did you say?"_

He didn't like the sound of that one; much less the look Ned's ward cast him as he turned his back. Even so, he was willing to let it slide...

"Freak."

...until the fool boy opened his mouth again and the anger came boiling back to the surface.

"Call me a freak." Naruto turned on him with a pleasant smile. "One. More. Time."

"Theon," Robb warned quietly, "Don't do it."

"Aye," Jon seconded, "Bad idea."

Alas, the Greyjoy didn't listen.

"I SAID you're a-!" Before Theon could fling another insult at him, the blond spun and cuffed him on the jaw. Loud guffaws followed the Ironborn's short-lived trip to the ground, growing only louder when the poor boy smacked his head in the mud. Naruto didn't wait for his prey to recover; he was already lurching after him well before the boy had struck the ground. Now, Theon had always been tall for a boy his age, but Naruto was even moreso, for he crossed the distance between them in three swift strides.

Before Theon could rise the whisked warrior, burying his fist in the boy's curls. Then he yanked.

 _Hard._

"Owowowowow!" Up he went, shrieking and squalling. "Let go, you ass!"

"Make me!"

By some miracle, one of his flailing fists managed to connect with his attackers jaw. For a moment, Naruto's world spun, his vision reeling like so many stars. Then he snarled. "Piss off, Theon!" Wrenching his tormentor aside, the boy's blasted the poor boy into a wall with such force, that he physically cracked it. Theon's strangled cry told them all they needed to know about his leg and that the unlucky limb had suffered the same fate as well.

"You...bastard! Look what you did!"

Naruto's only reply was a grunt as he stalked away from the scene. "Serves you right."

"What was that?!" Robb's exclamation was somewhere between a laugh and a gasp.

"That was me." Naruto drawled slowly as he rubbed at his aching fist, "Knocking his ass. To the dirt. I've been meaning to do that for a long time, now. Maybe now he'll stop messing with me at last."

Jon opened his mouth to answer-

 _ **"What's all this, now?!"**_

Whatever else he might've said died on his lips as a towering shadow fellow over them. Naruto startled, his first instinct being to flee from the scene. Because he knew that voice; that deep, thunderous boom, thick with reproach. Flinging himself aside, he poured all his speed into fleeing-

Sadly, he wasn't quite fast _enough._

"Crap! Leggo!"

 _Lord Eddard Stark_ snatched Naruto by the shoulder in mid-lfight and hauled him backwards, locking him in an iron grip until the fight drained right out of him and his struggles ceased entirely.

"Alright, alright, pops! I give!"

"Good." came the grunt.

"Leave us."

Robb and Jon cast Naruto a pitying look and complied with their lord's command-dragging a groaning Theon behind them. Eddard Stark watched them depart, his expression grim. Naruto dreaded the thought of that fell gaze falling upon him again, as he knew it surely would. Sneaking away while his lord father was distracted was suddenly a compelling idea. Even so, he daren't do it for fear of disappointing his sire even further. The thought was enough to root him.

So when Ned at last turned to face him, the boy was still there.

"What did I tell you about picking fights?" the withering reproach in that voice had been known to give a king pause, make lords and ladies cower, and Naruto was no exception. There were few things that could cow the boy like the Lord of Winterfell could, and he felt his defiance wither away beneath that piercing gaze.

"Theon started it." Naeruto muttered stubbornly, sullen. "He's an ass!"

Eddard looked at the boy, mystified. He'd never seen him so livid.

Then his countenance darkened like a winter storm.

"Did that give you the right to finish it? To break his leg?"

...no." the boy seemed to shrink before Ned's gaze.

At length, Ned sighed.

For all his years and skill with a bow, Naruto was still very much a boy on the outside and within. He was wild and fierce; his cantankerous behavior made all the worse by the fact that he possessed strength beyond his years. The Maesters couldn't understand it. He was peculiar, they said. Unique. In all honesty Ned didn't want an explanation, even if there was one. It was troubling enough to think that boy had "fallen from the sky" if witnesses were to be believed. No, he didn't want to think about that. The boy was his son. A Stark, even if he didn't look one. He refused to believe that the lad would deliberately be so spiteful as to do it on purpose.

After all, he refused to listen to anyone beyond himself, sometimes Robb, if he was lucky. In that, Ned supposed, he was fortunate.

For a boy like Naruto to listen to _anyone at all_ was something of a miracle in-and-of itself, given his upbringing and spectacular origin. And Theon _was_ known for picking fights with the lad before. Only he'd broken a few bones this time. Perhaps he was being too hard on Naruto after all?

After a moment, the Lord of Winterfell took pity on him and let go.

"You must control your temper, Naruto." He cautioned, laying a calloused hand on his "son's" shoulder. "Your anger gives you great strength, but it blinds you, all the same." When the boy looked away in shame, Eddard pressed the attack, forcing him to look back. "Remember, a man blinded by rage is no man at all. Promise me you'll control yourself from now on."

The boy seemed to wilt beneath these words.

"But I-

 _"Promise me."_

Naruto deflated.

"Yes, father."

A beat of silence hung between them until finally, the elder Stark resolved to shatter it.

"You've been practicing with the bow, I see." His solemn gaze swung to the arrow-studded target, noting the accuracy for the first time. "Impressive." That single admittance of praise was all it took to pull Naruto out of his stupor; as swiftly as the boy's face had darkened, so too did it brighten beneath the worse.

"I-

"M'lords!" a guard called suddenly! "Lady Catelyn is giving birth!"

"Shall we go and meet your sister, then?"

Naruto grinned.

"Yup!"

* * *

 _When Arya came along, suddenly, our little world grew._

 _Then Bran._

 _Rickon._

 _We were older by then, the three of us, and some of my more "unusual" talents had begun to manifest, garnering notice from all sorts. I found myself walking on walls and ceilings in my sleep. Moving with a speed that most men train their entire lives for. Ever thought you could outrun a horse?_

 _Apparently, I can._

 _With no one to teach me who or what I was, life soon proved to be trial and error for me. I was left to discover such things on my own. PLENTY of error involved. Even at that age I was stronger than most men-most simply didn't know it. Seven hells, even **I** didn't know! So it came as quite the surprise when I nearly broke a man's arm with a practice sword during a spar!_

 _Of course, father wasn't having that._

 _After that it was sword training with him and Robb every day. My arms were sore for weeks, but I soon learned how to wield a blade. Still prefer the bow and the knife by far._

 _Nowhere near as heavy!_

 _Of course, that made SANSA curious, and before long, I found myself teaching her the art of the knife as well. She mastered it in a month._

 _Father even took us to see the Wall as a reward!_

 _That was where things began to go wrong..._

* * *

 _(Four Years Before The Game of Thrones...)_

* * *

The Wall was very...

...very large, Naruto thought, warming his hands with a breath.

Castle Black loomed before them in the distance, a dark monolith in the ice, stern and solemn. Yet even that compared to the majesty of the Wall itself; a massive sheet of ice towering thousands of miles high and seemingly thrice as thick, shooting up into the clouds. Just the sight of it was enough to make him shiver in his furs. Seven hells, how did you _make_ something like that? It boggled the mind, more than his strange talents ever could. He suddenly found himself wanting to climb it; the excitement made him shiver even through his thick furs. Who knew what the world looked like from up there-

"Ohhh, wait a minute." Robb chimed in from his horse. "I know that look."

"Hmm?" Naruto slowed his pace and looked away, feigning innocence as he trod in the snow. "I have no idea what you're talking about." It did him little good. Robb was like a brother to him, it only made sense for him to know what he was thinking. Capering a little closer, he dismounted from his horse, took hold of its reigns and walked beside him, affording the whiskered blond a grin of his own.

"You want to climb it, don't you?"

Naruto relented with a grin.

"...maybe." he mused thoughtfully, glancing longingly once more at the rising wall. "Give me a bit of rope and some hooks and maybe...

"What? I thought you could just _walk_ on up." At the latter's reticent silence, his grin grew. "I'm sure _Sansa_ would love the view."

Naruto felt his face begin to burn despite the cold.

"I suppose she would."

"She fancies you, you know." Robb continued amicably, slinging an arm over his shoulder. "You should talk to her more often."

 _Steam_.

Naruto could _feel_ the steam shrieking from his ears at the thought. Despite all the years spent with them, he didn't think himself a lord. These were his friends, no they were more than that. They were his _family_ and the idea of someone like young Sansa "fancying" him was as strange alien as the Wall itself and the world beyond it.

"Sansa," he began slowly, choosing his words with care so as not to give Robb the satisfaction of besting him, "Is a dear friend; someone who happened to take well to my knife lessons."

"And what _else_ has she taken to?" Robb jibed.

 _"Nothing."_

"Like the fact that you've been running for the last hour?" came the cheeky reply. "Think I didn't notice?"

"Gah!" the older boy sputtered, composure abandoning him. "Robb, we're not supposed to _talk_ about-

 _"ACHOO!"_

A loud sneeze interrupted them before he could finish.

Robb grinned impishly and turned his attention towards the rear of their little convoy.

"Having fun back there, sister?" he called.

Sansa groaned as she tried-and failed-to huddle ever deeper into her furs. Her glower, however, was pure Stark. If looks could kill, Robb would've been a smoldering pile of ashes on the wind. But alas, Sansa could not, unfortunately, glare her brother to death, and so she was forced to content herself to a ruthless glare in the tentative light of the afternoon sun.

"I hate you." she groused.

"Ah! You wound me, my lady!"

"I'll do more than that!"

Naruto restrained a quiet chuckle as they squabbled.

Theirs was a grand little party, all in all.

In addition to Robb, himself, their lord father and a contingent of armed men, they numbered nearly a dozen in all. Ser Rodrick had chosen to accompany them as well, insisting that the experience would be good for his pupils and himself. Even the normally ladylike Sansa was tagging along, her horse cantering near the rear. Perhaps, had she known how insufferably _cold_ the journey would be she might've reconsidered! At present her face matched the color of her hair and Robb wouldn't stop _laughing_ about it.

All of the eldest were here.

Save for Jon Snow.

Naruto felt a small pang at the thought of his brother missing out on such an opportunity; Jon was Ned's son, too, so why couldn't he receive the same treatment? Why should he have to stay in Winterfell with Bran and the others while they rode out to see this marvel? After all, he'd been _begging_ to see it ever since uncle Benjen's last visit. But, for some reason that escaped him at this very moment Lady Catelyn had forbade Jon from doing so. She'd not wanted _him_ to go in the first place, which was precisely why they'd left her in Winterfell!

What was _wrong_ with that woman?

Naruto had long since resolved to treat the Lady Stark with some modicum of respect for the sake of his father, but this petty act only served to remind him that Catelyn would never be his mother. She was beginning to lose that respect with each passing year.

And now here they were.

"Naruto?"

The blond blinked, frowned, and suddenly realized he'd been had.

"Robb? Where did you-

Robb had slipped back onto his horse and slunk away while he wasn't looking and lost in thought. Now he found himself alone with the very person he'd been so desperate to avoid. Sansa. All because of Robb! That said Stark just-so-happened to be smiling only a few yards away only infuriated him all the more. The Lady Stark's anger at her brother appeared to have cooled somewhat, for she'd slowed her mount and was shooting him a most genuine look of regretful concern.

"Aren't you tired?" she asked.

Naruto bristled, aghast as Robb cackled loudly.

 _Traitor!_

"W-Wha?" he whooped loudly, desperately trying to cover up his anxiety. "I already told ya, I don't need a horse! I can do this for hours!"

"So it would seem!" Robb boomed ahead of them.

Naruto swore.

"Robb, I swear by the gods-!"

Naruto felt himself groan as he cleared another drift with graceful ease and alighted beside Sansa's horse, jogging freely, quietly hopping that in doing so he could push these thoughts out of his mind. Running just felt so freeing; he didn't expect Sansa to understand. This was something for him and him alone and as Father said, he wasn't permitted to tell anyone else about it outside the family. Seeing Sansas befuddle stare, he was beginning to see why. A man should not have the stamina to run full out for hours on end, least of all to match a horse at full gallop and his lady was doubtlessly wondering just how he could do so.

Of course, she wasn't as privy to his secrets as Robb and Eddard were...

"You may ride with me."

Naruto nearly tripped over his own two feet!

"I...beg your pardon?" he asked, risking a glance at Sansa, simultaneously bewildered and exasperated. "For a second there, I thought you said-

"I said you may ride with me," the redhead repeated, smiling slyly. "It seems a _shame_ to make you walk for so long. You must be tired."

 _Clever girl._

"Look, I can't just-

"Then I order you to ride with me." a note of stubborn command entered Sansa's silken voice. "You swore an oath to my father, remember?" she reminded him. "You can't refuse." Ah. Right. That oath. For perhaps the first time since he had bent the knee and sworn himself into service for the Starks, Naruto found himself cursing that oath. In the end he simply sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat. She may have inherited her beauty and matchless grace from her mother, but that bold tone of command was very inch her father's and in that moment he knew he'd been had.

 _Very_ clever girl!

"As you say, my lady." he relented.

Sansa beamed radiantly as he climbed into the saddle behind her.

"I _do_ say."

They rode in silence for a moment longer, Naruto doing his best not to do anything untowards _-despite the minor difference in years!-_ as he held tight to Sansa's mount with his legs. Sansa herself preened, proud of what she no doubt so as a brilliant success. Robb risked a glance back at them, grinned and was promptly flipped off by the former. Oh, he knew Robb meant well, but this...this was ridiculous! Muttering crossly to himself, he nearly missed

-the dreams?"

"What?" Naruto blinked, frowning. "Sorry, didn't quite catch that."

"Are you still having the dreams?" Sansa asked again, her expression grave. "You didn't sleep well last night. Or the night before."

Naruto felt his smile turn sour and his cheeks burn bright red all at once. He had the sneaking suspicion that Sansa had been sneaking into his quarters at night to check on him-or she might've simply heard him tossing and turning after they made camp the night before. It was true, he _hadn't_ been sleeping well as of late. The dreams of the violet-eyed girl haunted him like a specter even in his waking moments-sometime he woke with her name on his lips, like a half forgotten dream. What _was_ her name? At times he felt like he could almost speak it, and yet at others...

"Sometimes." he consented.

 _All the time._

Sansa fell silent at that and would speak no more.

In due course they neared their destination, Castle Black growing larger and larger with each passing moment.

 _"That's_ Castle black?" Sansa gulped quietly as they drew nearer to their destination. "Its...big."

"Hey, _you_ wanted to see the castle." Naruto quipped.

"Only because _you_ insisted!" she replied.

"Don't worry," he reassured her, "We won't stay long."

"I should hope not!"

After a moment's silence, she asked anew, "What do you think Bran or Arya would do?"

"Probably try to climb the damn thing." Naruto scoffed. "Rickon, too."

"Ah." Sansa nodded quietly.

"Like me." he added.

"Naruto!"

 _"Ha!"_

Naruto laughed aloud, imagining it. He _did_ love to climb. Bran would climb just about anything. And Arya wouldn't be far behind. It was almost a shame they hadn't come. They would have loved to see the Wall, if not Castle Black itself. Perhaps some other time, when they were older and their mother wasn't being so _damn protective._ A thought for later, he supposed. Right now he wanted nothing more than to simply get out of the cold, warm himself by the fire and fetch himself a nice hot mug of cider...

That thought turned dark as he saw men on the road.

Garbed in dark cloaks-one could only assume that these were what men of the Night's Watch wore-and numbering near twenty strong, they'd positioned themselves firmly on the road between them and Castle Black in a most peculiar fashion, using their horses as a wall of sorts. Sansa frowned and drew their shared mount back and cocked her head like a wary she-wolf, and Naruto found himself doing the same, inordinately proud of his lady's well-given caution. A hand strayed to the hidden dagger in her belt and he felt his pride climb several notches more.

"You've been practicing?"

Sansa shot him a knowing look, her bright eyes straying toward the sword in his belt.

"Have you?"

Naruto grimaced at the thought of taking a life.

"Lets hope we don't have to use them."

"Beggin' your pardon, m'lord Stark." one of the men drawled in loose common tongue as their convoy drew near, "The Lord Commander weren't expecting you. What're ya doin' here? Come to lend us some men?"

Ned frowned and forced his mount to a halt.

"Nothing so grand, I'm afraid. My boys wished to see the top of the Wall."

"Ah."

The men didn't move.

 **"It's a trap!"**

The whiskered warrior hissed softly as a familiar whispered snaked through his ears.

Not this again.

 **"What?! I have no interest in dying with you, fool! Now _move_ before you lose your head!"**

Naruto felt his frown deepen into something bordering on a scowl. The voice had a point, loathe as he might be to admit it. Why would the Night's Watch come out to greet them if their arrival _hadn't_ been announced to now? And in such numbers! Why were they armed and armored, thus? His thoughts formed into a cold knot of dread and with each passing second he felt the knot tighten into a noose around his throat. Something was wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it but it was as if something-or someone-was screaming at him, telling him to move, to act, to get the hell AWAY from-

The faint sound of drawn steel caught in his ears.

That was when he knew.

 _"Ambush!"_

Some fell instinct compelled Naruto to duck well before Ser Rodrick cried out, and shoved Sansa down after him. That instinct saved their lives. Instead of taking his eye, the flung dagger carved an angry line across his visage and swept past, bloodied into the snow. The angry red wound began to burn almost immediately, as though his very face were aflame. Poison. A most potent poison indeed, for his vision was already beginning to swim, and his hearing muffled with it. He was resistant to such things of course, but that strength only lent him so much...

When next he recovered enough to look, all had hell broken loose.

Swords and shouts rang out in equal measure as the assassins _-for what else could they be-_ fell upon them with blades drawn. Ned roared a battle cry and _Ice_ caught an unlucky attacker in the throat. Through the distant fog that'd overtaken his senses, he heard their leader cry:

"Death to the demon!"

 _To me?!_

Naruto had just enough time for this thought before Sansa's horse took an arrow to the knee. The mighty beast panicked and reared, casting them both to the ground in a heap of arms and legs. Unprepared for such an abrupt landing, he fell and lost his blade. To her credit, Sansa recovered quickly. He knife was out, quick as a flash, opening the face of a man who tried to close with them. Perhaps, under more pleasant circumstances, Naruto s might've been proud; now it was all he could do to focus, to defend himself.

 _'I'm stronger than this.'_

He'd never killed a man before.

Sparred with Jon, Robb and his father, yes, but killed a man? In cold blood? The boy in him froze and his knees nearly locked up at the thought. Did he dare kill someone, even in self-defense? Would not that make him just as wicked as the ones trying to kill him? Conflicting thoughts suddenly entered his head as a man came at him with a massive sword. Sansa swung at him and scoffing, he struck her across the face, hurling her into the drifts. One of his cronies saw the opportunity and moved in. Naruto started after her, only to be forced away and aside, wincing as the-poisoned?-weapon thrust at his head.

Pain blossomed in his chest, and the next thing he knew, he was in the snow. He could barely see anything now; nothing save the red of Sansa's hair, and the man, grabbing her.

 _'Why aren't I stronger?'_

 _Rage blazed in his throat, choking him._

 _'I have to be stronger.'_

His fingers curved angry divots in the snow.

 _'I must be stronger.'_

Sansa snarled a very unladylike word, struggling to extricate herself from an attacker's assault.

 _'I NEED TO BE STRONGER!'_

A flash of red and blue lit his vision.

 **"Don't make me regret this, brat."**

Steel flashed out and found itself parried. His attacker grunted, rebuffed and repulsed all at once.

"What's this?!"

Naruto dared to open his eyes, and froze.

Instead of the open air he'd been grasping at mere moments before, _something_ had materialized in his hands. His vision cleared, the pain faded away until it was almost nothing at all. What he saw there took his breath and fears away, dashing them against the ice.

He was holding a _sword._

The weapon sang mournfully as it arced through the air. Indeed it seemed to cry, as though it were trying to rend the sky itself. The hilt gleamed a mournful iridescent blue, the blade an eerie cobalt/azure that haunted the eyes and bewitched the soul. Was it valyrian steel? It seemed as though it were, and yet the blade itself felt like so much _more_ ; a living breathing entity held in the palm of his hand. A weapon like this could protect just about anyone, Naruto thought.

 _'It can also kill.'_

The hulking assassin closed with him and that was that.

He seemed to move so slowly, though!

No, it was just him.

Everything had gone, well...slow.

Naruto didn't well and truly understand what was happening, but he took the opportunity to climb to his feet. All the while his killer-to-be drew steadily closer, as though he were moving through a thick current. By the time the man finally _did_ reach him, he was ready.

Time snapped back into place, and swords clashed fiercely around him.

A single parry on his part caught the man's blade and to his surprise, cut clean through the massive great sword with a keening cry of steel. Then his brilliant blue blade continued its arc and cut upwards in a vicious arc to cleave the man's head from his shoulders. Simple. Effortless. The assassin's body tottered for a moment, headless, and then like a falling tree, toppled to the ground, neck spraying red mist.

"...is that it?" the blond blinked, frowning. "Why the hell was I so afraid of him?"

Naruto barely felt the blood across his face; he certainly felt no regret. Not even the faintest stirrings of guilt. Only anger. Who were they to try and kill him?! HIM! Anger and bloodlust were well and truly upon him by then in equal measure, and by the time he reached Sansa, he'd all but forgotten his doubts. The unprofessional oath he bellowed startled her attacker enough to give the man pause, and in the next instant, he found himself stuck by the very dagger he'd been working so hard to avoid. Snarling, his sword arm arched back to swing.

"You little bi-

Naruto was well and truly upon him by then and he made certain the man didn't finish the words _or_ actions. Sansa's dagger found his throat when he tried to rise. Naruto nearly spun on the sudden assailant before his poison-muddled senses reminded him of the presence his lady. She gazed back at him, wide-eyed.

Speak.

Right.

He should probably do...

...that.

"You alright?" he rasped.

Sansa took a sharp breath, nodded, and stepped towards him, into him with such force that he visibly startled. Breathless from the fight, bloodied knife still held tight in a white-knuckled hand. Wild eyes-not from fear-flicked to his sword, then back at him. Her mouth curved slightly into something resembling a smile. In that moment, she looked positively radiant. More than a lady. Like a woman.

Like a Queen.

He wasn't expecting the kiss, and when it came, she startled him so badly he nearly jumped. This was a battlefield, after all. Yet for a moment, all he could think of where those lips, warm and firm agains this-

An arrow thudded into the ground beside him, reminding him of the here-and-now.

Naruto quelled the strange and traitorous urge to grab Sansa and do horrible, ungentlemanly things to her and stalked back into the fray.

One of them-the very man who'd called for his head-rushed him with a howl. Naruto raised his blade and subsequently cried out when the man flung flash powder in his face. Pain like he'd never felt before raked across the right side of his visage, but the whiskered warrior bulled on, ignoring the burns to drive his sword up through his foe's gut. A cruel wound, but not immediately fatal. Ripping the pale blade free, he took a moment to savor the man's terror before divesting him of his head.

A fierce, fleeting joy swept through him as he spun away from his third kill, pausing just long enough to survey the battlefield.

The battle -if it could even be called such, now- was proving itself brutish and short. He was pleasantly surprised to see that Robb and Rodrick had felled more than their fair share of attackers. Indeed, whomever their assailants were, they clearly hadn't thought this through. Whereas once they might've depended on numbers to see the day, that number how now been cut in half and the Starks had only lost three men. A handful of the attacker's number had turned and fled when it became apparent that victory would elude them, though it seemed it would do them little good. The gates to Castle Black lay open to the north, and a handful of well mounted men were rushing through to cut them off, much to the dismay of the fleeing attackers.

The next man to come after him found himself promptly and viciously dispossessed of his sword, then his sword _arm_ in short order. Crying out in pain and clutching at his ruined elbow, the hooded killer stumbled back and Naruto stormed after him, brandishing his new weapon furiously. They dared attack his father, _him_ , to attack SANSA-

"Leave that one alive!" A ways behind him Eddard Stark roared as _Ice_ felled another would-be-assassin. "I want to question him!"

Naruto held back his swing and smacked the fool with the flat of his blade, stunning him.

The battle ended in short order from there, those who fled were cut down by men of the Night's Watch and those who didn't were put right in short order by the Starks themselves. In the end, the only survivor was the man Naruto had spared. With a weeping wound like that, he didn't seem long for the world. Still, Eddard Stark was determined to have answers for the assault on him and his men. Five loyal Stark Soldiers lay sprawled in the snow, dead as the snow itself.

"Who hired you?" he demanded to know. "Why did you attack us?" At the latter's reticent silence, he growled. "Why did you attack my son?!"

Naruto preened at the mention, but that honor was made short-lived by what came next.

"The boy's a demon." the man laughed, rasping weakly. "It was an easy job."

 _Demon?_ Naruto bristled, insulted. He was no demon!

Ned seemed to think even less of the remarks; for in that moment, Ice's edge pressed against the assassin's throat.

"WHO HIRED YOU?!" he roared!

The man leered back at him.

"You'll never know."

Then he bit down.

 _Hard._

Foam frothed against his teeth and in moments he was as still and dead as his brethren. Robb made a noise of contempt and spat on the warm corpse. But it was Eddard Stark's reaction that was the most chilling; the man simply glared at the corpse as though he could somehow command it to rise from the dead and give him the answers he sought. Naruto nearly cringed at the sight. He'd never seen such anger in his lord father in all his years and the sight chilled him more than any blade or poison could. Speaking of poison...

"Coward." Rodrick sniffed, disgusted. "We won't be getting anything out of him now."

 _"Son of a whore!"_

Naruto swore and struck down at the dead man with his sword, separating his head from his body. Still, the smile remained. A darker part of him wanted to stomp that smile into oblivion, but he restrained himself at the last moment and he abstained.

After a moment Ned straightened, turning his eyes to Castle Black and the men riding for them.

A gloved hand gripped Ice tightly.

"We'll weather at Castle Black until the morrow." he decided. "Then we ride for Winterfell."

Naruto barely consented to a grunt. Anger seethed inside of him like a wild wolf, struggling to slip its leash. It was all he could do to shove the beast back in its cage and pray that it would never again emerge. His hand still itched for action, to cut his enemies into pieces...

...until a gentle pair of hands took his face between them.

"Your face...

Naruto shied away from Sansa, her touch, and the memory it invoked. There would be words about this later, of that much he was certain.

"Right, right, I'm a mess...

Her words, however, were not what he'd expected.

"No...they're gone."

His whiskered face stared back at him, bearing a silvery scar running the length of his to his jaw, just beneath the eye. Of the burns that had marred his face there were none; all that remained of the assassin's assault was the lone scar, a silent reminder to what he'd just suffered. That...this...it didn't make any sense. You didn't just _heal_ from something like this; from the moment the powder burst in his face, Naruto had expected to be badly scarred for the rest of his life. Instead, he'd escaped being maimed, his face nearly unscathed.

"Impossible." Ser Rodrick breathed.

"Where'd you get that sword, anyway?" Robb asked.

And then there was _this_ bloody thing!

...I don't know." Naruto admitted. He didn't even know where to begin. The blade was simply there when he'd needed it most. He didn't have any other explanation.

"That blade is cursed, lad." Rodrick warned, bristling. "You'd be wise to leave it behind."

Naruto scoffed.

"If these attempts on my life are going to become regular fare, I'll need a weapon to...dissuade them." He hoisted it aloft, marveling once more at its design, the sheer weightlessness of such a beautiful weapon. "I don't know where it came from, but I aim to keep it. It will serve me well."

The weapon seemed to hum in his hand, agreeing.

"I'll name it...

...Frostmourne."

* * *

 _That blade._

 _I don't know where it came from. I still don't. Did I pick it up in the fray? Was it a part of me? Or did I actually CREATE the damn thing in my desperation? If my tenant has answers, he hasn't yet given them to me. But that blade..._

 _That blade changed things._

 _So did the realization that some_ _one wanted me dead._

 _Me!_

 _The thought was so alien to me that I nearly shut myself away for a month in Winterfell._

 _If not for Sansa, I'd still be there, cowering._

 _Once I understood that those in power wouldn't rest until I was dead, I resolved to live to spite them. I fought. I killed. I trained until I knew my blade better than myself. I became an excellent thief, and soon learned that word-of-the mouth is more powerful than all the armies in Westeros. Step by step, one distasteful task after another, I made my way from a boy in the courtyard of Winterfell to the second-greatest swordsman in the world. Varys told me influence grew like a weed. I tended mine patiently until word of my sword arm reached from North of the Wall to the farthest reaches of Asshai._

 _What started as an excuse to grow strong changed everything._

 _In time, however, I was charged with an even greater task than thwarting assassination attempts and busting skulls. My skills with stealth and swords had not gone unnoticed in Winterfell. Neither did my new blade. If I'd known the damn thing was malevolence incarnate courtesy of my nine-tailed tenant, I might've been wary._

 _My lord Father told me it was a great honor. Jon didn't mind, but, well, Robb..._

 _...he never liked that his best friend suddenly become a glorified bodyguard._

 _What were the words, again? Oh, right._

 _"An up-jumped knight without the title." he'd called me._

 _Ouch._

 _I don't much blame him for feeling that way, either. We were the best of friends through thick and thin, but there was always that schism between the two of us even before this. Suddenly he was the "lord-in-training" Jon was the bastard and I, well, I was charged with keeping Robb and his siblings safe. Duty was suddenly paramount. Friendship became a distant memory between the three of us._

 _After that he was always...harder than me, I suppose._

 _Until that day, years later._

 _The day that I acted._

 _I was the knife._

 _I was the spark._

 _The day my blade taste Bolton blood._

 **A/N: Aaaaaaand I'm afraid we'll have to leave it there, for now. For reasons and time constraints, Naruto and Ramsay will duke it out next chapter, Melisandre will pop up, and we'll start to enter into the events of Season One. I just felt this was a fitting note to end this chap on, given its focused primarily on Naruto, and Sansa towards the end. Feelings abound!**

 **Naruto's treading a dangerous path, and with that blade...**

 **Yes, yes, I know, the timeline as to when this happens is a wee bit muddy; it'll be explained handily in the next chapter. Anyhow there we go! Naruto in Game of thrones! One can only wonder what will happen. This is written for the indulgence of you, the fans, so by all means, tell me what ye want to happen! I don't guarantee a happy ending, but I do promise it to be an interesting one! And there's one character I can't WAIT to kill, though it may not be who you think...**

 **So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...**

 **...Review...Would You Kindly?**

 **And the preview! I think we can all agree; these THREE will make ya smile!**

 ** _(Preview(s)_**

 _"Naruto! Get down from there, you fool boy! You'll fall!"_

 _A light, lilting laugh answered Ser Rodrick's call._

 _"Not likely!"_

 _The blond grinned._

 _The years had passed like the winds of summer, honing his body into a wiry instrument of deadly agility. Fourteen years. It felt strange sometimes but in truth, he rather liked it. He was tall for his age, but he liked that, too. He could climb as high as he liked and never fear falling. When he was up this high he could forget the dreams, the pain, everything._ _Strength and grace were something that came naturally did him and he rejoiced in them._

 _"You shouldn't do that, you know. You'll fall."_

 _Naruto paused as a new voice reached him._

 _"Is my lady worried about me?"_

 _Sansa smiled shyly._

 _"A little."_

 _Naruto willfully remained where he was._

 _"Come down," she soothed, "And I'll give you a kiss."_

 _He couldn't help the color that rose in his cheeks. Temptress!_

 _"Sansa..._

 _Hoisting himself off the ledge, he alighted beside her._

 _That was when he saw Rodrick._

 _"I've been betrayed!" he cried, feigning a mournful gasp and clutching at his heart. "Sansa, how could you?!"_

 _"The Boltons have honored us with an invitation to their son's nameday feast." The way the old knight said the words spoke volumes._

 _Naruto groaned._

 _"Well, this should be fun..."_

* * *

 _(Present Time...)_

 _Naruto grunted in quiet pain as he lowered his charge to the ground._

 _"You should watch your footing there, little lord." he chided, wincing as his injured arm protested the motion. "A fall like that might've broke something." Catching someone falling at such a speed was no mean feat even for him, much less after a running jump._

 _Bran gulped._

 _"Thank you...did I hurt your arm?"_

 _"T'was nothing! Merely doing m'duty, ya know. Speaking of which...why DID you fall?"_

 _Bran chewed his lip._

 _"I..._

* * *

 _"You there, servant!" Joffrey called, his voice bounding off the walls of Winterfell, "I'm thirsty. Fetch me something to drink. At once."_

 _Naruto kept walking._

 _Incredulous, the Lannister called after him:_

 _"Did you not hear me?!"_

 _"Aye, I heard you." the blond answered back as he crossed the yard, "Doesn't mean I'm going to listen."_

 _"I am your PRINCE!"_

 _Laughter followed._

 _"I am no peasant little lord, and you are no prince of mine."_

 _Sansa smiled quietly as her knight moved to join her near the main gate._

 _"You shouldn't provoke him, you know. He could call for your head."_

 _Naruto scoffed, idly massaging his neck. "Then he'd loose his."_

 _"Naruto!"_

 _"What, he would! I'm not about to respect a brat who doesn't respect me!" At his lady's admonishing stare, the blond relented._ _"Shall we take a walk, then? I tire of posh princes with their heads up their own arses." He offered his arm and after a moment, his chosen beamed._

 _"We shall."_

 _The blond grinned and took her arm in his._

 _"As you say, my lady."_

 **R &R~!**


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